The Reason Why
by CraftyPup
Summary: No matter how hard he tried, it didn't matter. It never mattered. He could do it perfectly, and still he would be criticized, put down, insulted. Archen didn't know why he put up with it for so long, but after a while, enough is enough.


Well, everyone, here it is. I find this version to be much better than the old one, and I hope you do as well.

Disclaimer ; I do NOT own Harvest Moon or Chase. :U

I came up with the name Archen long before pokemon used it, by the way. |: (That makes me go fkajghaklfadl, but whatever.)

Summary ; No matter how hard he tried, it didn't matter. It never mattered. He could do it perfectly, and still he would be criticized, put down, insulted. Archen didn't know why he put up with it for so long, but after a while, enough is enough. It was the last straw; he just couldn't take it anymore, and when Chase finally pushes him too far, he gives him what he deserves, and makes sure everyone is there to witness it. The question is, though, why was he so horrible about everything, even though Archen hasn't done anything wrong? You know what they say about _little boys_; they tend to pick on people they like. It just seems that Chase took it a little too far this time.

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><p><strong>The Reason Why (ReWrite)<strong>

"You are such an asshole!" I was pissed. No, I was far beyond pissed, and everyone in town knew it, if not because of the tone and volume in which I was speaking, then because of the look of pure, uncensored fury, hatred, that I was giving him. It was the last straw, though, and I just couldn't take anymore of his shit. "I have no idea why I continuously put up with you!" A growl escaped me as I spoke, "All you do is criticize me, constantly insult my work, my effort! What the hell is **wrong** with you, other than your just damned **awful** attitude!" No one dared say anything as I yelled at him and no one even thought to make a move to attempt to stop me.

They all knew he had it coming, all of them, I just don't think they were expecting me to be the one to give it to him.

Chase of course, just shot me a glare, though one not anywhere close to as intense as mine, and yelled right back at me, "Look, you brat, it is nowhere near **my** fault that you just mess up enough to piss me off, that you are just **bad** at what you do!" The glass cup I'd been holding, as it was about to be put in the sink, made just the slightest sound as it began to crack under the pressure of my grip. "Maybe if you actually listened to me once in a while, things like this could be avoi-"

I wasn't about to listen to his pathetic excuse, and cut hm off, my look darkening, tears beginning to build in the corners of my eyes out of pure frustration, "I **do **listen to you!" My voice cracked, just the slightest, barely noticeable. "Damnit, Chase, I follow your instructions **perfectly**, every single time, and every single time you look as hard as you fucking can to find something wrong with it!"

"I practice more than you probably ever have, just to make sure I won't mess up, to make sure I get it just right so maybe once, just once, you'll actually have something **nice** to say to me, something good about my cooking!" I gripped the glass harder, beginning to feel the cracks forming. "Would you like to know why I'm so exhausted when I come here? Why I always look like I'm ready to just drop?" When he said nothing, I continued, "I'll tell you anyway. Let's see, considering that I have to tend to all of my fields of crops, take care of all of the animals I'm raising, and making sure to keep happy with every villager on the island, I go home, I shower, then I cook and make drinks."

"This can be for half an hour, an hour, or even three hours or more, depending on what time I get home. Why do I make all these things though? So I can have something to give you, all of you, every day, because I know how happy it makes everyone!" It was true, it really was, and until this moment, I don't think he, or anyone else, realized just how much work it is doing what I do, how much time and effort goes into being a farmer. "Then, somehow, I manage to make it here, and do nothing but bust my ass and listen to your bullshit!"

"I get as much sleep in a week as you do in two nights! Three hours is usually my maximum amount, because after we close down here, I have to help clean everything up, then walk all the way back up to my house and clean up, again, and finish working out my schedule and plans for my farm, my animals, crops, cooking, before I can even think to go to bed. By the time I get to try to sleep, I have to get right back up and do it all again!"

Still, he stayed quiet, everything stayed quiet. No one spoke, no one moved. Chase was making an attempt to keep the hard look in his eyes, the fierce look on his face, but it was failing him. The glass cup was now shattered, many pieces on the floor, some still in my clenched fist. Blood was dripping down at a steady pace, creating a puddle on the floor. I didn't care, barely noticed. The tears had begun flowing freely, dripping onto the floor as well, mixing with the blood and glass.

None of that mattered though. All that did, was the anger burning in my chest. It had taken me over, consumed me, if only for those few minutes.

The fight was over though, I knew it, he knew it, they all knew it. What I had said though, was the complete and honest truth, and it hit him, hard, harder than even I thought it would. Guilt, pain, sadness; pooling in his eyes, overriding everything that had been there before. Realization had passed over him at one point, and now... now, he knew.

To be honest though, I really just didn't care. I unclenched my hand and flung it, causing more blood, and larger shards of glass, to fling to the floor in front of him, then turned around and stormed off, fuming. Again, no one said anything, tried to stop me.

It wouldn't have done any good, they knew that.

As soon as I stepped foot out of the Inn, I began to run, wanting to get as far away from him, from everything, as possible. I didn't want to go home, I knew that much, and someone would surely be at the Church. The beach... no... too close to the Inn, to close to town.

It clicked in my head, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go; Caramel Falls.

It took a few minutes, but it was worth it, well worth it, and as I arrived, I felt every emotion from the Inn, from the fight, fading, slowly drifting away, being replaced by sadness, frustration.

I sat down on the large rock, my usual fishing spot, and pulled my knees up, to my chest. My arms were wrapped around them, in a hug, and I just sat there alone and cried. It was late, later than it seemed when I left, but that just meant that no one would be around, no one would bother me, no one would go looking for me.

After all, it wasn't any of their business. They would all just go home and go to bed, relishing in the sleep they would get, so they can wake up the next day and go about their lives like nothing happened.

It's what they always did.

I guess I couldn't complain though; it kept peace in the town... usually.

My eyes stayed glued to the water below me, watching the reflection of the moon as it slowly, so slowly, made it's way across the sky. I don't know how long I sat there, how long I just watched that reflection, but it was a good, long while. I knew that because the sky was slowly changing colors, signifying the meeting of the sun and moon, and they changed places.

Morning, lovely.

I passed my sleeve across my face to clear up any tears that would have remained; though my crying had stopped a while ago.

**Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.**

The sound of shoes padding across the stone pathway caught my attention and I looked up. Standing in front of me was the last person I wanted to see, the one person who made me feel horrible again, as soon as I realized it was him.

Chase.

He stood on the other side of the small pond, panting, sweating. His face was tinted red, and he looked tired, no doubt from running. As he looked over at me, he spoke, his voice laced with mild irritation, but also, worry.

"Finally! Goddess, I've been look everywhere for you!" Good for you then, asshole. Snorting, I shot him a half-hearted glare, then proceeded to attempt to stand up. I was wobbly, my legs having fallen asleep. "Look, listen to me, okay? I'm s-"

"Sorry?" Once again, I cut him off. I knew what he was going to say. I didn't want to hear it. He wasn't going to mean it, and there was no point in him wasting both his and my time. "Yeah, sure.. Don't... Just don't feed me that bullshit, Chase." I sighed, not feeling up to even telling him something. I had to though, or he wouldn't leave. "You are never sorry, ever. So.. just go away... leave me alone."

My eyes stung from crying, my face was red, and I was just plain worn out. All I wanted was to go home and sleep, all day, and just forget about him, the Inn, and the fight.

Chase didn't respond after I told him what I did, but he didn't make a move to leave either. No, instead, he started making his way down the small path, towards me. There wasn't anything I could do about it, nowhere I could go, and as he stood a mere five feet away from me, I turned to face him, attempting to glare harder. Tears that I thought had ended were once again threatening to fall.

"Archen." I said nothing, and he took a step forward. Mirroring him, I took one back. "Please... please.. just.. hear me out..." He was pleading, his voice full of sadness, of defeat. I just shook my head, taking a quick glance behind me. I was close, barely a foot away, from the drop into the water, and if I continued this little stepping game, I would end up falling in, which, not a good idea, since I couldn't swim all that great.

Some part of my mind though, just a small, insignificant part, screamed out to just jump in the water, get away from him, and unfortunately, I was just about stupid enough at that moment to listen to it.

Seeming as if he knew what was going through my head though, Chase lunged forward, grabbing me just before I could do it. My eyes had closed tight, and I was prepared to hit the freezing cold water, to be soaked to the bone. It never came though.

Realizing what had happened, I opened my eyes once more, coming face to face with him. An indescribable emotion was flowing through me, matching the one he was looking at me with.

"Why..?"

It came out of my mouth before I could even register it as a thought, but it was exactly what I wanted to know. Just one word, one, held so many questions, more questions than he probably knew how to answer.

Why did you hate me so much?

Why did you do all of those things?

Why were you so horrible to me when all I wanted was to be your friend?

Why... did you come after me...?

Why did you stop me?

Why... why did I... even after everything you had done to me... why did I still care about you..

All of them, those questions, and so many more were flying through my mind, and while I didn't ask a single one, he knew, he knew what I wanted to know, and in an instant, every single one of those questions was answered.

Though not in a way that I could have, or would have, ever expected.

My mind went blank; I froze. I didn't know what to do or how to react, so as soon as my mind registered what it was he was doing, I just about flipped out, and tried my hardest to pull away, to get away from him.

He didn't let me.

No, he didn't even loosen his grip on me. He just pulled me closer, not letting up, not pulling back.

I just couldn't help it. I don't know why, but I couldn't... and I gave into him.

I didn't want to. I shouldn't have. He was so horrible towards me, so mean, cruel. I had no reason to give in, no reason to let him kiss me, but I did. I really did.

As I kissed him back, I felt him smile, just the slightest, before pulling away from me, though not letting me go. "Stupid." He chuckled, that small, soft smile remaining on his face. "Why the hell do you think I messed with you so fucking much?" I didn't answer, though was sure that he knew what I would have said if I did. "Right... yeah.. Well, you know that stupid thing people say about kids? About when a boy likes a girl, he'll pick on her relentlessly?" That did sound familiar, and I nodded, signifying that I knew what he was taking about. "Same thing, pretty much."

I could see where he was coming from with it, and I guess in some weird way it made se- Wait. Wait a second. No it didn't. It didn't make sense at all! "Wait.. Huh!" My eyes widened in obvious shock.

As he rolled his eyes at me, I felt my face heat up a bit in embarrassment. "As if you couldn't tell from how I just kissed you, yes, you annoying little farmer; I like you." It was his turn to blush, though it wasn't nearly as noticeable as mine, "A lot actually... "

It was time again for me to try and get away from him, but as I stated before, I was exhausted, and no matter how much I wiggled and pushed, he didn't let me go. "Okay, no, just no. You can't **like** me! It.. I..." I did not have an excuse for one.

"What? If you say it's because you don't like guys, I may have to throw you in the pond myself." He chuckled, "Because if that was the case, you would have hit me when I kissed you, or hit me afterword. Besides, you kissed me back, and you can't deny that."

"Bu-"

"Archen." He cut me off. "Shut up."

I was about to huff and tell him something, but didn't get the chance, as he pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. Letting out a sigh, I hugged him back, immediately getting a whiff of... oranges? I couldn't help but let out a laugh, "You smell like oranges." He really did!

Suddenly serious, he frowned, "And you smell like blood." Probably not the best time to mention that I had completely forgotten about my hand. How the hell I managed to do that, I will never know, but as soon as my attention was back on it, all the pain rushed into me at once.

Dear Goddess, that hurts a whole lot more than I was expecting it to.

After my initial realization, wincing, and grabbing that wrist with my other hand at the sudden pain, I was lifted up by Chase -he's stronger than he looks-, into his arms, and he began to quickly, and carefully, make his way around the waterfall.

I didn't have to ask where we were going, since I was pretty sure I knew. It was about the time that Jin would be arriving at the Clinic anyhow. As we made our way to town, I looked closely at my hand. The blood was dried and caked over the cuts, or most of them. Glass bits were still stuck here and there -I could feel them-, though they were stained red now. I would be lucky if I didn't have to have some of the wounds stitched up.

Jin was at the Clinic, thankfully, and opened the door after just two knocks. He seemed confused, surprised when he saw us standing, well, Chase standing there, me in his arms. "What in the world are you two doing here this early in the morning and why-" He didn't finish his question, as it was that moment that he noticed me clenching the wrist of my hurt hand, and caught a glimpse of the dark red substance coating my palm. "Bring him to the back. I expect an explanation for this."

There was no hesitation as Chase did what he was told. He brought me to the back of the office, where there was an examination table, and set me on it, carefully though. As I looked over at Jin, I saw that he already had gloves on and was looking through a cabinet for, what I imagined would be, supplies.

Bandages, a towel, tweezers, a tray, and a few different vials, which I figured had herbal medicine in them, were placed on a small rolling stand near me. "Hold out your hand." Doing as he said, he gently gripped my injured hand in his own and picked up the tweezers. "This is going to hurt, but I need to get out as much glass as possible before we clean you up."

I nodded, not saying anything. A shiver ran up my spine as I readied myself for the pain, beginning to grip the edge of the examination table. Seeing my discomfort, worry, Chase grabbed my hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. Glancing up at him briefly, I saw he looked a bit guilty. I suppose he had a reason to, I mean... considering, but I should have set the glass down before flipping out. Oh well, I guess.

Slowly, very slowly, and with the kind of care and precision only a doctor can have, Jin began removing the glass shards. One, two, three, four...

There were a lot, more than even I expected, but most of them were really small, and hard to get.

By the time he'd finished, I could barely feel the pain as it had simmered down to a throb. Thank goodness for that.

Cleaning it didn't take long; just running it under cold water and using a towel.

Bandaging though... well, those herbs stung. A lot. But I didn't need stitches or anything, so after the salve was put onto all the cuts, he wrapped it up nice and tight with some clean bandages.

Time for us to g- "Now, tell me what happened." Or not. I had figured -almost hoped- that he would forget about asking that.

Unfortunately, he did not.

Chase sighed, loudly, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away from Jin and myself. I, on the other hand, blushed, only a bit, and looked down. "Well... it's my fault, really..." Chase explained the story, from the beginning, to how we ended up here, in, much to my embarrassment, full detail.

After he finished, Jin stood there for a moment, as if taking all of the information in. "I see." I watched him, amused and confused, more so as he picked up a stack of papers, and proceeded to fold them in half. I was going to ask what he was doing, but as he walked back over to us and whacked Chase, rather hard, in the head, the only thing that came out of my mouth was a stream of laughter.

Oh man, that was sweet.

"What the **hell** was that for!" Chase was pissed now, and his yelling made that obvious, but even this didn't do anything to stop me from laughing, smiling. It was funny and he deserved it! He sent me a smirk, which caused me to bite my lip to stifle some of my giggling.

Jin though, smirked as well, then shrugged, "That, Chase, was for being a complete ass to such a good kid." And that would be the first time I had ever heard Jin curse. Wow. "Now, take him home. You are responsible for him now, and that means you **will** be helping him out." Jin's look turned stern as he looked at Chase. "He is not going to be using that hand until the cuts are healed, meaning **you** will have to assist him in his daily chores. This also means no working at the Inn.

We both nodded, and Chase made no sarcastic or smartass remark. "Thanks a lot Jin, for everything." He gave me a smile and turned to go back to whatever it was he was doing before we arrived, and Chase gave me a quick glance, meeting my eyes, before going to lift me off the table. "I can walk, you know." I didn't mean to sound rude or mean, if I did, but a pang of sadness flashed through his eyes anyhow.

As soon as it appeared though, it vanished, and he picked me up anyway. I let out a small laugh, "Chase, I said I can walk!" He met my smile with a smirk, and just kept walking.

His smirk grew wider and he chuckled as he spoke,"I heard you the first time."

"You aren't putting me down, are you?" I gave him a blank look, already knowing the answer to my question. He confirmed my guess when his smirk turned into a grin. "That would be a no."

I made a face at him, at first, before sighing in defeat and relaxing. There was no point in arguing with him; I wasn't going to win. Besides... It was kind of nice to not have to walk home after everything that happened, and well, he was warm, and comfortable.

A yawn escaped me, and as we made our way to my home, everything around us slowly began to fade into darkness.

"Hey, wake up." He spoke softly to me, and I slowly opened my eyes, grumbling as I did so. Why in the world did he wake me up? I was sleeping so great too... "We're back at your place." That would be why.

Part of me was expecting him to just set my feet on the floor to just stand up, so I can say that I was pleasantly surprised when my back touched something soft. A smile made it's way onto my face; he'd put me on my bed. There were no words to describe how grateful I was for that.

I sighed contently, rubbing my face against the cool pillow; oh how being in that bed felt like heaven.

I was brought to attention once more though, by the sound of footsteps, making there way across the room, away from me. I opened my eyes once more, having closed them as I was laid down, and saw Chase walking towards the door, leaving.

"W-wait..." The exhaustion was getting to me, and I'm surprised I could still form coherent words, "Don't go..." I didn't want to be alone, not then. I couldn't be.

My heart fluttered as he closed the door, then turned towards me, a smile, a real, happy smile, lighting up his face. "I'm not going anywhere.

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><p>And done. C:<p>

Thanks again!


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